WASHINGTON, 10 March, 2021 (TON): On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department has blacklisted two Iranian officials from Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The names of the two blacklisted officials are, IRGC interrogators Ali Hemmatian and Masoud Safdari.

The department accused the officials for their alleged involvement in the human rights violations during the 2019 and 2020 protests in Iran.

Both of them along with their families are now ineligible to enter the U.S.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, “We will continue to consider all appropriate tools to impose costs on those responsible for human rights violations and abuses in Iran.”

Also known as Bloody November, the 2019–2020 Iranian protests were a series of nationwide civil protests in Iran, initially caused by a 50%–200% increase in fuel prices, leading to calls for the overthrow of the government in Iran and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

As reports state that the protests commenced as peaceful gatherings on the evening of 15 November but spread to 21 cities within hours, eventually becoming the most violent and severe anti government unrest since Iran’s inception.